


Statement of William Alexander Rogers

by I_dunno



Category: The Magnus Archives (Podcast)
Genre: Original Statement, Pre-Season 1, The Slaughter
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-15
Updated: 2020-06-15
Packaged: 2021-03-04 06:46:59
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 648
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24739456
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/I_dunno/pseuds/I_dunno
Summary: Statement of one of The Slaughter's more subtle avatars
Kudos: 3





	Statement of William Alexander Rogers

Statement of William Alexander Rogers, taken May 3rd, 1997.

You might not have heard of me- which is by design- but I am one of the most important people in international diplomacy. You can probably tell by my accent I’m an American, but I don’t have any formal position in the US government, though I do have many dealings with them and other governments.

You see, my family are followers of the entity you know as The Slaughter. We simply call it War. But we’re not the flashy avatars. See, for every soldier on the frontlines in a combat role, there are about ten people in the US Army that don’t fight. So while things like the Piper take that frontline roll, my family and others like us play our little games behind the scenes to actually start wars.

Our patron has a rather unique weakness among the Fourteen in that it has no reliable source of fear. There will always be disease and darkness and pain, but for the kind of impersonal, systemized violence that War craves, people and institutions need to choose to make it happen. 

No politician will say they like war, and yet, politicians start wars anyway, largely thanks to us. See, I am a lobbyist. I don’t know if you Brits have a different term for it, but in simple terms, I pay politicians to do what I want. And what I want is for them to start wars.

See, my family owns a lot of companies. About a third of the American military-industrial complex is owned by me, directly or otherwise. This makes me very rich. And then I use that money to make donations- not bribes, of course- to the campaigns for various senators and representatives. And in return, they’re just a little more hawkish. I couldn’t just pay the president to declare war on someone, but I can encourage decision makers to let their patriotism lapse into nationalism and let their concern for foreign democracies turn into interventionism.

But I consider myself quite apolitical, really. I sell planes to the Israelis and missiles to the Palestinians. I supply most of the warlords in Africa. I run guns to drug cartels and poachers and smugglers and rebels. I’ll sell you weapons regardless of race, religion, nationality, or political beliefs. I could even sell you and your associates military equipment if you wanted.

So that’s my statement, really. I haven’t personally killed anyone or driven someone insane or directly triggered a war. I don’t commit atrocities, I just arrange them. Really, very few people fear me directly, although many do indirectly. The way I see it, most people fear the president, or at least the power he wields, the president fears Congress, and Congress fears the lobbyists. I’ve done a few things I’m particularly proud of, sure- I consider the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution the best thing I’ve ever written- but honestly I’m not a scary guy. I’m just the more complex parts of War. War is more than just the terror of a pitched battle, especially in this day and age. It’s also the terror of the family cowering in their homes as their city is shelled from miles away. It’s the mad dash for the bunker as the air raid siren goes off. It’s the eerie tension as the patrol creeps through the jungle. It’s the knowledge that there are people with the power to eradicate your city before you even know it’s happening.

Honestly, I’m not sure how to end this. I only came here because I lost a bet, I don’t really have a specific story to tell. I guess I’ll be going then. Here’s my card, just in case you ever need to cause a little mayhem. Until next time, Ms Robinson.

Archivist’s Note 3/5/97:  Give number to A., brute force can work well (Flesh???)


End file.
